RESOURCE LIBRARY

A Guide to Emotional and Behavioural Strengths and Challenges

This book is an upbeat, thoroughly readable guide that provides parents, mental health professionals, teachers, and caregivers the keys to understanding how to promote mental wellness and resolve psychosocial problems in people with Down syndrome.

This booklet has been developed for people with Down syndrome.

The authors, both doctors, provide information on how medical issues can present uniquely in people with Down syndrome. They provide families, caregivers, and medical professionals invaluable insight into the more common health problems of their patients. In a clear, empathetic style, they discuss how to promote a healthy lifestyle to prevent problems, and how to recognise health problems early on to ensure appropriate care for the best outcome.

Bupa Care Services is New Zealand’s leading provider of dementia care. This guide draws on their wide experience of caring for people with dementia and their understanding of the sadness and stress it can cause for relatives and friends. They recognise that every person with dementia is different and every carer’s situation is different, but they hope you will find some useful advice, information and support in this booklet.

This film tells the story of Andrew, who had Down syndrome and dementia. It powerfully illustrates not just a sister’s dedication to her brother, but also a gold standard of dementia care for someone with Down syndrome.

This DVD, from a 2003 medical symposium is about adults with Down syndrome.

This publication was produced by the Down Syndrome Society of South Australia. Topics covered include rights, physical and medical characteristics, speech, language, behaviour, specific learning difficulties, occupational health and safety, social skills, sexuality and human relationships.

This book is concerned with vocational employment of teenagers and adults with Down syndrome. It is paricularly concerned with the transition period from school to work, and looks at the possibilities that are now available in many parts of the world. Importantly it describes the practical steps that are required to encourage success.

Information communication technology (ICT) presents a range of new opportunities for adults with Down syndrome to gain access to tools for learning, communication, and personal development. ICT can be used in many different ways; for example, to send and receive e-mails, take digital photos, and participate in a range of interesting leisure activities or education programmes. Attention in this book is given to the context of the life of adults with Down syndrome, and how ICT can be used to improve their quality of life. A more general introduction to information technology, accessibility issues and instruction can be found in Assisting individuals with Down Syndrome to access information technology – An overview. Building on these previous publications, the present book describes the role of ICT in adult development generally and explains the various ways in which ICT can be applied to support learning across the adult life span. Actual examples are included to illustrate how adults with Down syndrome are using specific kinds of hardware and software to extend their communication, learning, and personal interests.

Cultural influences impact on all our lives and this is no less true for people with Down syndrome. This publication describes various cultural responses to disability, looking at families and individuals with Down syndrome from a cross-cultural perspective and how best they can be supported, and examining the form and functions of service systems that are culturally sensitive and appropriate.

This book discusses community and independent living for adults with Down syndrome. In many ways it follows on and links to a previous book in this series, Families of adults with Down syndrome. It describes the ways adults have moved from family home to community residential living, and in so doing discusses the development of an independent home life intergrated with the local community. We have provided examples of people, who vary in their ability levels, along with the successes and challenges they have faced. This book provides some suggestions for consideration by parents and professionals. It also looks at the professional training required for frontline personnel, along with the types of behaviours that parents might look for in considering an individual’s placement in the community.

This book is written to enable the participation of individuals with Down syndrome in recreation activities. It includes information that will help in the planning and implementation of individualised lifestyles. Examples of recreational activities are provided that may contribute to the reader’s resources. Activity analysis is described in detail and includes a sample analysis so that the reader can see how to apply the concepts to a recreational activity.

Attention to spiritual well-being is as important as care for the emotional, intellectual, physical and social aspects of life. This book is based on the concept of spiritual well-being as an integral, essential part of the everyday life of the whole person; it is not an optional extra, a fairy tale, an academic extra or a nuisance.

This book presents a basic introduction to the value of artistic activity for all people. It presents a brief introduction to different kinds of artistic expression and then focuses on drama and theatre experience.

This book describes the value of inclusive post-secondary education, the responsiveness of tertiary institutions and the difference this makes to the lives of individuals with Down syndrome. Today, students with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities are being fully included in universities, colleges and technical institutes. They attend regular classes in a wide variety of courses and faculties, make friends, belong to clubs and participate in the informal and formal social life of these tertiary education institutions and go on to be successfully employed. This book describes the value of inclusive post-secondary education, the responsiveness of tertiary institutions and the difference this opportunity has made to the lives of many individuals with Down syndrome.

This book deals with the issues that face families as their members grow older and the consequent adjustments that families make as they adapt to the changes in the individuals who comprise their family.

Advocacy by and for adults with Down syndrome is based on the belief that all citizens have the same rights and responsibilities and potential for growth. It is recognised that there is a need to combat the exclusion and discrimination experienced by adults with Down syndrome through enabling them to access their human and legal rights. This publication seeks to define advocacy, explore its origins and describe the various forms of advocacy that are on offer.

This publication takes a lifespan perspective, and considers how experiences in the past and in the present will impact on choices, opportunities and development in the future. It shows how all aspects of the individual’s life are linked together and that changes in one area may have an effect in another.

This book examines issues for families with children with Down syndrome. Reviewing available research, the book examines potential difficulties and strategies for overcoming them.

The introduction includes information on the structure and finding your way around the series.